TheCryofMankind

I have a usual question,

I remember reading this question before, but after spending 20 minutes searching for it, I figured I would post it again.

I got an '01 S2000 preowned and I am trying to figure out how to tell what kind of oil the previous owner used in the car. I tried to track down the owner in VA, but to no avail - so beyond that, how do I test the oil to see if the owner used synthetic or not? Or if I can't tell, is there a process to clean out all the old oil as if I was switching to synthetic?

Thanks

CoralDoc

It doesn't matter what kind of oil the previous owner used - use whatever type of oil you wish (as long as it is the correct viscosity ). This advice assumes that the engine has over 10k miles on it - a safe assumption with an '01.

Modern synthetic oils are compatible with non-synthetics, so even if the previous owner used non-synthetic oil, using synthetic is fine. The reverse is also true. If the previous owner used synthetic and you want to switch to non-synthetic, there is no problem.

Road Rage

Good advice - I generally try to stay with thre same mfr of oil, whether syn or mineral, since the additives are usually quite similar.

On way you might check is to take a strong flashlight and look into the oil fill hole - synoils are generally very clean running, and leave little or no residue unless eriously overextended. Mineral oil when over extended will leave a godlen "patina" over the metal parts - this is not necessarily cause for conern, since opertaing room cleanliness is not a make or break thing in these engines.